Doughocracy, New Fast-Casual Pizza Concept, Coming to the Delmar Loop

A new fast-casual pizza concept, Doughocracy, is opening this fall in the Delmar Loop — likely October or November. The main attraction will be the hand-stretched pizza dough, which customers can customize with toppings in an assembly line process akin to that at Chipotle. They'll be ready in just three minutes.

But that's not the only thing on offer. Doughocracy will also offer salads, craft beer and wine, gooey butter cake — and a dessert called a Nutella Bomb.

And yes, that's certain to be every bit as good as it sounds. It's basically pizza dough with marshmallow and Nutella folded up inside, then sprinkled with Nutella and powdered sugar and finished in the oven for a confection that's something like a Nutella calzone. "The Nutella just explodes," promises Brian Curry, director of marketing for Chicago Franchise Systems. "We are really excited about it."

Doughocracy will be housed in what used to be the Ziezo clothing store at 6394 Delmar. It's one of the first two Doughocracy franchises (the other, which will also open soon, is just outside Chicago). The concept is a new one for Chicago Franchise Systems, which also owns the beloved Al's Italian Beef and Nancy's Pizza.

Curry says he's not the least bit worried about standing out amongst the numerous fast-casual dining options in the Loop. "Build-your-own pizza is still kind of an exciting thing," he says. "There are a lot of sandwich shops where you can do that, but not so much with pizza. And everybody loves pizza."

Interestingly, the gooey butter cake offering is not just a feint to the St. Louis audience — it will also be on offer at other franchise locations, including the one about to open in Chicago.

And that leaves St. Louisans with an incredibly hard choice. Hometown pride and the joys of gooey butter? Or the Nutella Bomb?

Maybe we can just order both?

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